Shoe sole straightener



Nov. 6, 1951 J. D. CORRIGAN SHOE SOLE STRAIGHTENER Filed June 15, 1950Ill 1 n In FIG- 4- 7 lll |||l [li. a

III I D IN V EN TOR.

Fatented Nov. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,574,320 SHOE SOLESTRAIGHTENER Y John D. Gorrigan, New York, N. Y. Application June 13,1950, Serial No. 167,811..

1 Claim. (01. 12-1291)" This invention relates to shoe solestraighteners of the kind adapted to be applied to shoes externallythereof for holding the shoe in shape while they are not being worn and,as its principal object aims to provide in a shoe sole straightener ofthis type an improved construction of such simple form thatthe devicewill be inexpensive to manufacture and easyv to apply or remove, butwill nevertheless be very efiective for holding the shoe in proper shapewhile applied thereto. V

Another object of this. invention is to provide a shoe sole straightenerof the character mentioned which is made from a single length ofresilient but relatively stifi wire stock and in which the differentportions of the straightener are formed by continuously. connectedintegral portions of such single length of stock and include relativelylong arm portions formed by opposite end portions of the stock and abridge portion which connects the arm portions and is formed by theintermediate portion of the length of stock. I I

A further object is to provide an improved shoe sole straightener of thekind referred to in which the arm portions extend in crossing relationto each other and in which the lowermost arm portion is offset at thepoint of crossing.

Still another object is to provide a shoe. sole straightener of thecharacter above indicated in which an intermediate portion .of thesingle length of wire forms anupwardly arched bridge connecting the armportions at one end thereof and engageable with the sole tip andeye-shaped lugs carried by up-turned fingers on the free ends of the armportions are engageable with the edges of the shank portion of the sole,and in which the sole-engaging portion of such bridge and lugs areformed by flattened portions of the wire stock.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent in thefollowing detailed description and in the. accompanying sheet of drawingin which- Fig. l is a side elevation showing the shoe sole straightenerof the present invention applied to a shoe;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the shoe sole straightener and shoe as viewedfrom the toe end;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the shoe sole straightener and alsoshowing portions of the shoe in construction lines only; and

Fig. 4 is an end view of the rear end of one of the arms of the shoesole straightener.

As shown in the drawing, the improved shoe sole straightener I is of thetype adapted to be 2 applied to a shoe II externally thereof byengagement of. one end of the straightener with the tip portion [2a ofthe sole l2 and engagement of the other end of the straightener with thesole portions l2b at the sides of the shank. When thus applied thestraightener lies against the bottom of the sole l2 and exerts an upwardpressure on the intermediate portion of the sole and a downward pull onthe sole tip thereby tending to straighten the sole and prevent theformation'of Wrinkles in the leather at the top portion I3 01 the toesection of the shoe. v

The shoe sole straightener I0 is made of wire, as is further explainedhereinafter, and comprises an upwardly arched bridged portion M at thetoe end thereof, a pair of resilient arms I50; and i5?) extendingrearwardly from the ends of the bridge portion and upturned fingers l6at the. rear ends of the arms and provided with eyeshaped lugs 11. Thebridge portion M is defined by a forwardly bowed or concave transversetop bar Ma having downturned end portions Mb to which the forward endsof the arms l5a and H1) are joined. The arms I50. and [5b are of asubstantial length and extend rearwardly from the bridge portion I4,preferably in crossed relation to each other such that the point ofcrossing l8, will be at or adjacent the midpoint of the arms and at ornear the central point of the sole l2 as shown in Fig. 3, when the solestraightener has been applied to the shoe. At the crossing point IS thelower arm l5b is offset downwardly to define a confining yoke portionIS, in which the crossing portion of the upper arm is received.

The upturned fingers i6 which carry the eyeshaped lugs I? are relativelyshort as compared with the arms F511 and 5b and are of a length suchthat when the bridge portion I4 is hooked over the sole tip I20. and therear ends of the arms are pulled upwardly, the lugs 11 will engage overthe shank sole portions 12b. The lugs 11 extend laterally inwardly fromthe fingers [6 in a substantially right angular overhanging relationthereto and when the rear ends of the arms l5a and [Share pulledupwardly they are also spread apart to permit the lugs I! to be movedpast the sole portions l2b.

The pulling of the rear ends of the arms He and I5b upwardly causes themid-portions 0f the crossed arms to engage the bottom of the sole l2 andfulcrum thereon in the manner of a lever. When the lugs II have beenthus moved upwardly past the sole portions I2b and released, theresilient character of the arms We and I 5?) causes the lugs to be swungtoward each other and en gaged over the sole portions. When the shoesole straightener ID has been applied to the sole l2 of the shoe l I inthe manner just explained above, it is retained thereon by theengagement of the bridge and lug portions I4 and I! with the sole tipand shank portions I2a and l2b, respectively, and by the crossed armslie and |b being pressed against the bottom of the sole. In the appliedposition of the shoe sole straightener the bridge and the lug portionsl4 and i1 exert a strong downward pressure on the tip and shank portionsHo and |2b of the sole l2 to produce the above-mentioned straighteningeffect on the shoe.

To enable the bridge and lug portions I 4 and I! to engage the tip andshank portions [2a and no of the sole more securely, the wire of theseportions of the shoe sole straightener is flattened as shown in Fig. 3.The flattened portions of the lugs I! are designated Ila. The forwardlybowed shape of the flattened transverse top bar Ila also enables thebridge portion M to have a greater portion of its length in holdingengagement with the'sole tip [2a.

It is a feature of the present invention that the different portions ofthe shoe sole straightener l0, namely, the bridge portion ll, the armsI51; and l5b, the upturned fingers l6 and the lugs I"! are all formed bycontinuously connected integral portions of a single length of wirestock of a suitable gauge such as for example nine gauge. The wire usedis a relatively stiif inherently springy wire, preferably steel wire,which can be bent or formed to the desired shape by suitable tools ordies. For economy of manufacture of the shoe sole straightener ID, thewire stock used should be capable of being readily formed to the shapeshown without need for any initial annealing of the wire or anysubsequent tempering or hardening treatment.

A type of Wire well suited for use in the improved shoe solestraightener I0 is a nickel or other coated steel wire of the-kind whichis subjected to a drawing operation after the nickel or other coatinghas been applied. Wire of this kind has a hardness and resiliency whichare satisfactory for this shoe sole straightener but still do notprevent the wire stock from being readily bent and formed in suitabledies without need for annealing. The nickel or other coating on the wirestock gives the shoe sole straightener an attractive bright finishwithout requiring any additional operation and also renders the deviceresistant to corrosion.

When the shoe sole straightener 10 has been formed to theabove-described shape from a single length of a relatively stiffinherently springy wire, as explained above, the bridge portion I4 andthe fingers it, including the lugs I], will be relatively rigid andunyielding but the arms [5a and [5b will be resiliently flexible andwill yield to permit the lugs I! to be spread apart for engaging ordisengaging them with the sole portions l2b. In removing the shoe solestraightener in it is only necessary to spread the lugs I1 apart byflexing the arms I51; and 15b 35 whereupon the lugs can be disengagedfrom the sole portions [2b. As soon as the lugs have been thusdisengaged, the bridge portion H can be unhooked from the sole tip [2a.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing, it will nowbe understood that this invention provides a shoe sole straightener ofan extremely simple and economical construction which can be easilyapplied to a shoe or removed therefrom and which will exert an eiiectivestraightening action on the shoe. It will also be seen that thisimproved shoe sole straightener requires only a single piece of wirestock and that all portions of the device are formed by continuous andintegrally connected portions of the single piece of stock.

Having thus described my improvement, I claim as my invention:

A shoe sole straightener comprising, an upwardly arched bridge portionhaving a transverse concave top bar engageable with the sole tip of ashoe, a pair of relatively long arms connected with the ends of saidbridge portion and extending rearwardly therefrom, relatively shortupturned fingers at the rear ends of said arms, and laterally inwardlyextending eye-shaped lugs carried by said fingers and engageable withedge portions of the sole at the shank of said shoe, said solestraightener being a one-piece structure comprising a single length ofresilient but relatively stifi wire stock, said bridge portion being thetoe end portion of said single length of wire and said arms being themain portions of said single length which are adjacent to said toe endportion and said finger and lug Portions being the shank end portions ofsaid single length, said arms being flexible throughout substantiallytheir full length such as to constitute spring elements adapted toreleasably hold said lugs in engaged relation with said edge portions ofsaid sole and such as to be flexibly swingable on said bridge portion topermit spreading of said lugs for applying the straightener to orremoving the same from a shoe, the top bar of said bridge portion andthe end portions of said lugs being flattened portions of said singlelength of wire stock, said arms being disposed in crossed relation toeach other with the point of arm crossing located at approximately themidpoint of the length of the straightener and the lower of said armshaving an oifset therein at said point of arm crossing.

JOHN D. CORRIGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 990,866 Hawkins May 2, 19111,848,551 Sayles Mar. 8, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number V Country Date725,738 France Feb. 16, 1932 737,598 France Oct. 4, 1932

